Understanding Whistler's Techniques

What did James McNeill Whistler put in his mysterious sauce? How many brushes did he use to paint one scene? Go behind the scenes in Tate’s Paintings Conservation Studio and discover more about Whistler’s ever-changing techniques.

Whistler mixed a variety of pigments, turpentine (paint thinner) and oil to make his famous ‘sauce’, which was the medium he painted with.

While he kept the 'ingredients' of this sauce a secret, scientific analysis of the painting surface has shown which pigments he used, and revealed that he most likely mixed in large quantities of turpentine and a dash of oil to get the sauce to his desired consistency.

To test this hypothesis, Paintings Conservator Rachel Scott recreated the sauce and tested it out to see if it matched the drips she had seen in his portrait of Miss May Alexander.

Most paintings from this era have a layer of varnish over them, which is usually a clear layer of resin that protects the surface and can intensify the colours in the painting.

Varnish can degrade over time, changing the way a painting looks, but removing old varnish is a complex and delicate process. Whistler was very particular about his varnishes, and would sometimes have works revarnished or retouched to achieve the look he wanted.

Through conservation records and lab analysis, Rachel Scott has identified that some of the varnish retouching on the painting of Miss May Alexander was not made by Whistler himself. In this video, she uses a new method to remove layers of yellowed old varnish to reveal the original colours hiding beneath.

Can you tell what types of brushes an artist used just by looking at their paintings? Conservator Jane McCree shows us how to look for clues in the painting's surface and reveals the different types of brushes Whistler may have used to paint his famous Nocturnes.

She and the team examine brushstroke sizes and use a specialised digital microscope to reveal how Whistler applied paint differently to achieve a variety of surface effects. Jane also recreates Whistler’s technique for rubbing back paint he’d previously applied in order to reveal the canvas weave underneath. This effect, aptly termed ‘weavism’, helped give his Nocturnes a diffuse, misty appearance.

The Fire Wheel, with its dark hues and sparkly details, was long considered impossible to restore. The varnish had degraded to the point where the painting was a murky greyish-green colour, instead of the original deep blue.

Conservator Gabriella Macaro shows us how she has been able to remove the old varnish and reveal the underlying colours. Now many more details of the scene are visible: from a Victorian outdoor dancing pavilion and snack shack to different groups of people milling about the scene and flocking to the firework display that gives the painting its name.

Gabriella also mixes up paint using pigments identified through lab analysis, testing the effect of a lighter blue underlayer, which now comes through more clearly in the restored painting.